A Note on Ingredients

Is it worth the money? When it comes to ingredients, yes! There is a difference between fresh, canned and frozen. The fresh will always taste better if it is prepared right but, if you are willing to sacrifice taste or crispness, you can use the frozen or canned to save time and money.

My last recipe calls for "Simply Limeade" which is a little bit more expensive then other Limeades on the market but there is a unique quality that the "Simply" label produces. For the last few years it is the only orange juice I would drink because it taste fresh squeezed. The refectory here at school serves us frozen concentrate and that makes you appreciate the fresh squeeze when you can get it.

THEOLOGY ALERT!!! This morning for class I had to reflect on Tertulia's writings and there is a concept that he draws out that claims that evil has to exist in order for goodness to be recognized. Part of me want to call that bull but my thoughts on orange juice just gave me a real example to help me get my mind around it. The fresh squeezed tastes amazing but I really didn't appreciate it until I was stuck drinking the concrete. The concentrate therefore exist so I will appreciate what a glass of fresh squeezed taste like. Ok, now back to the original topic...

Don't you love how my train of thoughts works? Now back to my thoughts on ingredients. Some of my recipes really require the brand or specific item I list. This is why I am bringing up the "Simply Limeade"; it is the key ingredient for the Margarita Martini. You can change out the tequila to your liking, you can replace the Grand Marnier with a lesser Triple Sec and you might not notice the difference, but use anything else but the limeade and the taste will suffer.

So how are you suppose to know what you can substitute and what you can't? Well the same way I came up with my choice, experimentation. Have fun in the kitchen and don't be scared to try new things and open your creativity. Lastly, speaking of creativity I think I just came up with an amazing idea for surf and turf, using fillet medallions and scallops, now I just need a kitchen to try it out in...